Blogs from Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia

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Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba March 28th 2019

Dnesny den prakticky nic zaujimaveho, kedze som to zobral totalne oddychovo a cely cas bol na terase ubytka a dopisoval dennik. Ranajky vyriesenie v kafecku obdalec, kde rovnake kartelove ceny asi ako vsade. Dal som si mie gomak. Co boli nudle s vajcom v omacke. Co sa tyka nudli, vsetko su to vacsinou vsade nudle zo sacku, ziadne domace. Tak ma aspon poucil amik zo vcera. Poobede vybehnutie do pizzerie frannky, bo len tam boli ludia. Starsi beloch obkoleseni mladimi domacimi chlapcami. Ti ho sprevadzali, nevim ci to boli vsetko buzny. Jeden sa ku mne aj prihovaral ale drbal som na nho. Dal som si fritovanu rybu. Chutovo ok ale zas predrazene ako vsetko naookolo. Jebat cele lake toba a ich premrstene ceny na jedle. Poobede len opat na terase. Na ulici zvyseny pohyb bielych ale ... read more

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba March 27th 2019

Poriadne vyspaty zbieham dole a berem skuter. Prvy nesiel startovat tak dostavam iny aj s plnou nadrzou. Mam ho vratit s rovnakou hladinou. Dnes konecne dorazili na svk pohladnice z filipin. Tak ako vcera i dnes cela dedinka vyludnena. Zastavka na nakup pohladnic. Mensie zjednavanie, najskor 5 za 25, nakonec za 20 a este jedna navyse. Cul si musim rozmyslet komu ju poslem. Ani som sa poriadne nerozbehol a uz parkujem pri stone chairs. Skoro rano ziadny vyberci (nevim ci to je spoplatnene). Dnu kamenne schody, kamenny stol, stolicky, par kamennych soch. Hore domcek ale tam sa mi slapat nechcelo. Dalsia zastavka pri rovnomernom nazve. Tu uz okolo vsak tur.stanky a kasa. V nej nik. Idem na nadvorie, tam typicke batag domceky rovnake ako na sulawesi, zas volaka socha. Cvak a historicku vlozku tohto ostrova mam ... read more

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba March 26th 2019

Noc som dako prezil. O 6.00 zastavka na ranajky. Reku aj tie su v cene, neboli. Pri ranajkach si ku mne prisadla moja spolusediaca a jej mama (?). Tak fajn pokec v ramci moznosti. Nazad do busu a sup ho dalej. Nohy riadne dostipane. Ako pozeram von oknom, pribudlo tu kostolov, ubudlo handrovych hlav a pribudlo reklam na pivo bintang. Konecne vyskakujem v mojej destinacii parapat. Vyskocil tu este jeden clovek, ostatny smer medan. Hned sa na mna zavesil my friend ale schladil som ho slovickom makan (jest). Padam hned do prvej restiky cez cestu. Obsluha mlade dcery majitela. Jedlo ok ale cakal som mensiu cenu. (To este netusim co ma caka na druhej strane jazera v dedinke tuktuk) V restike aspon dobity mobil. Sa mi cestou vybil na totalku a pritom som ho ani raz ... read more

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba December 23rd 2017

I haven't written in a while, but patience is a virtue (that's for you, reader, because laziness isn't a virtue and it's probably what kept me from writing!). Our flight from Bali to Sumatra had been amended (takeoff at 3pm instead of 9am) which meant that instead of arriving around midday, with plenty of time to travel the 3 hours from the airport in Medan to our guesthouse in Bukit Lawang, we would arrive in the evening. Once at the airport in Bali, we also found out that the plane was going to land on Java (an island between Bali and Sumatra, where Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, stands) for 45 minutes as passengers would be getting on. We were unlucky, a big storm was sweeping through Java at the same time than our flight... Which meant ... read more
Rice fields on Samosir Island
View of Lake Toba
View of Lake Toba & Samosir Island

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba November 7th 2016

Leaving the jungles of Bukit Lawang I again had to catch the four hour bus ride to the dreadful city of Medan. I really have no love for this place with its traffic and smog congested streets and the ever present street hawker trying to relieve you of every last Rupiah he can. A necessary evil though as it is the major transport hub for Sumatra. After arriving back in Medan I transferred to another bus heading five hours to the South. Nothing moves quick in Sumatra as I am learning. My destination was Parapat - the jumping off point for Danau Toba and Pulau Samosir. Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake on the planet measuring 100km long x 30km wide and 505m deep lying in the caldera of a super-volcano and was formed some ... read more
doorview
view2
batak

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba July 20th 2015

It was time to leave Medan, and the end destination of Lake Toba should be reached in the beginning of the evening after sunset. In Lake Toba, you can find a huge Island called Samosir where you can meet some traditions of the Toba Batak people. And, it is a very popular holiday place for the Indonesian locals. They are quite surprised that we Western tourist, mostly Dutch, are also visiting Lake Toba. To meet the Toba Batak people, a great way is to set sail over the Lake and go by boat to some small towns. I did a small cruise (excursion) to discover 3 of these small towns on the Samosir Island. I danced in a ceremony with the Batak people around an ox , I found out what the Batak people did with ... read more
Nasi Goreng @ Selemat Datang
Lake Toba/Samosir Island
Monkey

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba March 21st 2015

75,000 years ago the explosion must have caused something like a nuclear winter if not a mini ice age. It is believed to be the largest explosion on earth over the last 25 million years and deposited some 6 to 9 m of ash over parts of Asia and Africa. The world and Sumatra would have been very different then. What remains now is the largest crater lake in the world (Danau Toba) filled with a high sided island (Samosir) larger than Singapore. We climbed up on the windy Trans Sumatran Highway from Medan slowly at first and then with increasing recklessness and speed as the driver calculated we could make the 4pm ferry from Parapat to the island. We dropped down into the caldera winding along the lake edge which sits at 900m. Tourists at ... read more
The door to our room was not more than a metre high
Traditional Batak houses at a museum complex
The hearth was traditionally in the centre of the house

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba March 10th 2015

So after having a good nights kip and a bit of a lay in I headed off for a walk around Tuk Tuk ( a small peninsula on the island of Samosir - which is the size of Singapore - so pretty big.) Tuk Tuk is the area where visitors tend to go to as its the only part that the public ferry drops people off at. It being full of guesthouses, hotels, cafes selling you magic mushrooms ( advertised everywhere!) to have while you get your laundry washed and sipping on a hot tea! Took only about an hr until I was back at the guesthouse, passing on the way rice fields, a catholic church and a school. The locals all seemed friendly all saying hello, and the atmosphere of the island feels nice. It ... read more

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba September 17th 2014

Snad hlavním zastavením na Cestě banánové palačinky na Sumatře je jezero Toba. Baťůžkáře i další cestovatele sem přitahuje rozlehlé jezero s obrovským ostrovem Samosir uprostřed, kde je levné ubytování, mírné klima, malebné okolí a lážo plážo život (tedy aspoň pro turisty). Všude kolem žijí hlavně Batakové, národ původně animistického, ale nyní křesťanského založení, staví velmi zajímavé domy s vyřezávanými štíty a zahnutými hřbety (podle mnoha pozorovatelů připomínající buvolí rohy), a pěstují zeleninu, rýži a kávu. Jezero je ale unikátní hlavně svým původem. Před asi 73 tisíci lety se probudil místní supervulkán a došlo k největší erupci, jakou Země zažila během posledních desítky milionů let. Pozůstatek po této katastrofě, šišatá stokilometrová kaldera je nyní zaplavena vodou, jen uprostřed ční rozlehlý ostrov Samosir, a oblast dnes příliš nevypadá jako sopka. Výbuch měl i dost pod... read more
Tuk Tuk
Čmelák
Tuk Tuk

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba August 20th 2014

Bukit Lawang Endlich angekommen. Im Regen. Wie es hier aussieht, wissen wir noch nicht wirklich. Jedenfalls ist alles recht feucht, vor allem das Toilettenpapier im Openair-Bad. Und auf der anderen Seite vom Fluss - wir mussten eine Hängebrücke überqueren zu unserer Unterkunft - findet eine Hochzeitsparty statt, mit laut hämmernden Bässen. Soviel zur Vorfreude, endlich wieder in den Dschungel zu kommen. Udin ist unser Guide für morgen und hat uns in Empfang genommen. Netterweise hat er auch unsere Taschen über den Fluss getragen, während wir nur den Schirm halten mussten und die Balance auf der schwingenden Brücke. Die Fahrt von Medan hierher sollte vier Stunden dauern. Gebraucht haben wir 5 1/2. Am Anfang war alles noch sehr spannend. So viele Eindrücke! Nach dem sehr entspannten Malaysia, war man hier voll im Chaos. Hier wird wieder gehupt, ... read more
Sunday fun
The short way home
Relaxing at Mega Inn, Tangkahan




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